All things Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer. I just like to play with the characters. My thanks to my wonderful beta EdwardsMate4ever, and to jaspersdoll for the title.
Vices and Vamps
Chapter 1 – The Street
The sidewalk was treacherous from the light drizzle. She shivered as she fought to keep her footing and a come-hither smile plastered on her face. Friday night, and the street was alive with cars, some cruising, and some looking for business. The murders in the recent headlines hadn't stopped those in search of a good time.
Bella's outfit wasn't made for this weather. Six-inch heels and torn fishnet stockings paired with a faux leather mini-skirt and bright fuchsia top with the word Hollywood written in rhinestones across the bust. Bella sighed and stopped, posing for the passing cars. In civilian life, she didn't wear heels like this. She winced, feeling her feet blistering where the straps on the shoes were rubbing.
Keep smiling, keep posing. This was her job now. Sell it to the passersby.
She heard footsteps behind her. Whoever it was, they stopped when she stopped.
She forced herself to keep looking ahead, but she wrapped her finger around the trigger of the gun she kept in her bright, animal-print purse. She had bought the purse to fit around her department-issued Smith & Wesson MP40, and she could shoot through the purse if she needed to.
Step, step, painful step. Sound of the wind and laughing voices interspersed with music from car radios. Red brake lights alternated with white headlights on the street. She kept moving, listening for the sound of her pursuer. A blue sedan, recent model, slowed down next to her.
"Hey," someone yelled out the window. She paused, posing with a hip jutting out.
"Want a date?" she asked.
"I never pay for it," the guy said before throwing a beer bottle at her.
She ducked so it just missed her face and smashed to pieces on the wall behind her. Jerk. The car revved its motor and tore off, laughter following in its wake. Probably frat boys, out looking for an easy score; tourists in this part of town where the business of drugs and sex were taken seriously.
Bella took the opportunity to look behind her. She couldn't see anyone, but there was an alley a half block behind her. Whoever was following could have ducked into it and be just out of sight.
She was shivering again, not just from being wet and the near miss with the bottle, but from fear.
Seattle was in the midst of a murder crisis. Instead of pulling her in to work on it, her supervisor-that dick Mike Newton-had sent her out here on a vice decoy detail.
She hated it. This wasn't why she joined the Seattle Police Department.
Focus. Veronica was at the next corner, leaning into a car. The door opened, and she got in. A new girl calling herself Missy Goodride was on the opposite corner. She had some major work done, hoping to make it in the movies. The porn industry had used her up and spit her out, so she was working the street.
Nowadays, Bella never knew if she would be seeing any of these girls again after they got into the cars that stopped for them.
They were all desperate, desperate enough to turn tricks. Needing drugs, or bottomed out in the economy, they couldn't make it working in fast food with kids at home. The cash from just a few tricks would make a difference, and they could quit whenever they wanted. Or so they told themselves.
Because Seattle was in a state of turmoil. The newspapers and Internet headlines were screaming about how people were not only being murdered, but were disappearing.
The murder victims first caught the headlines three months ago. It didn't take long for the press to notice an uptick in the missing person cases shortly after. Even in Seattle, there were a lot. Clean-cut college kids, disappearing on their way home from night classes. Young men or women walking home from a late shift. Always at night, and never seen again.
Bella shook her head to keep her focus on the streets. Losing track of your surroundings could be deadly out here. Suddenly, the footsteps were right behind her.
"Hey, baby, got something for me?" a muffled voice asked as an arm pulled her flush against a plump body.
She recognized the stale, tobacco and gin-stained breath before the voice. It was a fellow officer, Johnson. S.O.B.
She kneed him. He released her and leaned forward, moaning. His partner, Stenson, who had stepped out of the alley to watch, laughed.
"What was that for?" Johnson asked.
She smiled grimly as she looked at him. "Get your car. We're going to headquarters."
Stenson rolled his eyes. "Look out," he said mockingly. "She's gonna tell on you to the Sargent."
Xxx
Please review. I will send an excerpt from the next chapter to all reviewers.